Summary: The role of a pastor is to build up the body to do the work of the ministry. Your job is NOT to DO the work of the ministry. What are you doing today? Who are you seeking to teach how to do that? It is your job to build the body, not just do the work yourself.

I had a mentor. He repeatedly pounded into me, “The role of a pastor is to build up the body to do the work of the ministry. Your job is NOT to DO the work of the ministry. Biblically, your role is to build up OTHERS to do the work of the ministry.” At each meeting, he asked me two questions. The first question: What had I been doing and working on? The second question was never far behind: Who was I training to do what I had been working on?

He asked me these questions every single week. Knowing that I was going to peppered with this second question about multiplying myself in ministry each and every week, I sought to do what he kept telling me. I found qualified people and began to systematically pass on portions of the mantle that was under my authority. This was double the work, mind you. I was barely staying ahead of the ministry workload. Yet, I was being told that I needed to be training and handing off ministry to others in each area of ministry AT THE SAME TIME as keeping everything afloat. Yet, he persisted in his plea...and he was my boss.

Several years later, I was sailing along with a robust team of people, deeply engaged in the ministry. These leaders had risen to the top and I painstakingly taught them to be volunteer pastors and shepherds in different areas of the ministry. I multiplied myself several times over. Now there was a very deep bench of key players.

Let me be that same voice of reason and challenge. What are you doing today? Who are you seeking to teach how to do that? It is your job to build the body, not just do the work yourself.